Even if you are in costume and not a handler, be mindful of your fellow troopers and if you notice someone badgering them, get a handler or step in yourself and discreetly move the trooper out of the situation.

Even if you are in costume and not a handler, be mindful of your fellow troopers and if you notice someone badgering them, get a handler or step in yourself and discreetly move the trooper out of the situation.

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*Always walk with a wall behind you (don’t think anything funny guys ), because there is always THE idiot willing to look smart in front of his friends to sneak behind and grab the detonator or steal your gun in the holster (breaking the whole belt by doing so).

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*Watch out of people who are too enthusiastic... they could be dangerous for your costume. Over friendly hugs really hurt when in full costume

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*Try to get a spot in front of the equestrian units in your local parades.

Other Officers and Staff as required or Appointed by Legion Commanding Officer

Legion Council

Detachments

Detachments are the costuming units of the Legion. Their role is to assist new and old costumers alike in the understanding, formation and build¬ing of costumes. Detachment Leaders and their administrative staff assist the LMO and GML’s in understanding unknown or misunderstood basic standards for costumes within their category of expertise. Detachment Officer’s are comprised of:
Detachment Leader (DL)– elected by the detachment Membership
Detachment Executive Officer or assistant detachment leader(DXO)-appointed by detachment leader

Trooping

Trooping Guide

Ok you’ve got you armor and are ready for your first troop, or you 100th troop. Here is a compellation of the words of wisdom from your fellow members of the 501st Legion. It has been compiled from many posts on the Legion forum as well as personal experiences and anecdote heard throughout the years.

There are many reasons for trooping with the 501st Legion, raising awareness for a cause, promotional appearances, assisting in fund raising for charities, and just plan having a good time.
There are typically two event classifications, canon and non-canon. A canon event is an event where the requesting organization requires a specific group of characters. Typically cannon events are either Original Trilogy (OT) or Prequels (Clone Wars). For an OT event only screen accurate original trilogy characters will be allowed to participate in the event. For a canon Prequel event only screen accurate Clone Wars era costumes from the movies or television series will be allowed. Screen accurate means unmodified armor, no custom paint schemes, no added badges, palderons, or overt identification or tags on the armor. Special note for Expanded Universe (EU) characters: Expanded universe characters are characters that are only documented in non-movie or television sources such as books, conics, graphic novels and video games. EU characters may be excluded from canon events at the request of the event promoter or the garrison command staff.
How a troop is orchestrated: Trooping opportunities come from several sources both official and unofficial. Official troops are frequently generated through the Garrison or Squad command. They consist of events that are requested through the Legion request an appearance web page, direct requests from individuals and organizations to the command staff or direct requests or events organized by the Legion itself.

Legion Events are typically multi-garrison or large regional events such as national and international promotional events like the Cartoon Network Clone Wars television series or DK Star Wars book releases. National events often require a coordinated effort across many garrisons and will be locally coordinated by the garrison command staff. Frequently final event details are still being arranged up until a few days before the troop so don’t loose heart if you think things are a bit vague
Most troops will typically be posted on your Garrison Web Forums. There may be specific call requirements for an event, set by the requesting organization such as 1-Vader, 6 Stromtroopers, arrive at 5:30 pm troop from 6:30 until 9:00pm…. Etc.

Or an event may be a general call for as many troopers as the garrison can muster your garrison command staff should list all the requirements in the event posting.

Typically for new events the garrison staff or event captain will post an interest request post it is important that you respond to these posts especially if you are interested in trooping the event. The interest post is used by the Garrison Command Staff to determine if the troop will be viable. If little or no interest is expressed by the Garrison Members than the Command Staff will likely decline the event request and tell the event requester that the 501st Legion is unable to appear at this time.
If there is sufficient interest the staff will typically request confirmation that you are defiantly able to troop the event. Important note: DON’T commit to doing an event if you don’t intend on doing the event! Conversely if you do commit to doing an event make every effort to attend, we all know stuff happens and unforeseen emergencies can arise that may prevent you from attending, however once committed the reputation of the Legion and Garrison are now on the line to provide the confirmed troopers for the event.

Know The Code

Trooping is intended to be a fun and rewarding experience. It gives us all an outlet for creative expression through the construction and creation of our costumes and the development of our personae as Star Wars characters. It important to note that although we are all in this for fun we are representing the Star Wars universe to the public and should behave in a professional manner at all times when in costume. The Legion code of conduct is the guideline for behavior when in character and as a member of the 501st. community.

Pre Troop Briefing

Before trooping you need to make sure everything is in working order. Look for wear and tear, dirt, stains, scuffmarks etc. Clean and polish as necessary. Stock up on extra batteries, bottled water and repair supplies, in general just do a basic check of your kit.
Try on your armor before your first troop. Wander around try the stairs. You will quickly discover what fits and what doesn’t and learn the meaning of the term “armor bite”

Create a packing list, laminate it and keep it in your armor bin.
Check you armor kit the day before. (make repairs as needed)
Always have printed or written directions of where you are to meet.
Share cell phone numbers with you fellow troopers.
Take care of your feet! Wear insoles for those long troops.
Check you repair kit, restock what ever is missing.

Remember: The longer you’re in the armor, the hotter it gets. Testing out your armor at home for 15 minutes is not the same as trooping for two hours. Even in air conditioned locations, heat can be an issue.
Used black permanent marker or other permanent label method to discretely write my TK id# on the inside of ALL my armor parts. If you drop during the event or forget anything while packing up it will increase your chances of return from a fellow member.

If you are on special medication or require special medication due to allergic reactions, be sure to share that with those around you and let them know where they can find it for you and how to administer it in an emergency. Let them know the warning signs.

Trooping

Trooping is why we are all here, the important thing is to have fun, entertain the crowd and stay safe and healthy. There are two potential dangers that can easily be overlooked while trooping, Heat Exhaustion and Hypothermia. Heat exhaustion occurs when your body gets overheated and can no longer support its natural cooling mechanisms, See side bar for more information on the symptoms and treatment of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Hypothermia, although less common for a trooper that heat exhaustion is a potential danger in colder climates or at outdoor events in a cool, wet and windy environment such as a parade, see side bar on the symptoms and treatment of hypothermia.

Arrive Early

Check in with your fellow Legion Members and the event coordinator when you arrive at the event. If you are the first trooper there, check in with the event sponsor or venue point of contact.
If possible, before you suit up, walk the venue or area you’re going to be trooping look out for potential hazards, choke points, and blind steps.

Use bathroom BEFORE getting into armor.

Don’t troop if you are sick, dizzy, tired or under special medication.

If you are on special medication or require special medication due to allergic reactions, be sure to share that with those around you and let them know where they can find it for you and how to administer it in an emergency. Let them know the warning signs.

Hydration is Important

Make sure you have enough food and drink during the whole trooping time (as trooping is quite exhausting, especially for beginners).

Always behave as a stormtrooper is expected to, don’t force public to do things they don’t want (being prisoners... and so on).

Watch out for kids, they are short and our field of view isn’t the best. You don’t want to hit them by accident

Be polite

Always carry extra batteries for your fans.

If you had been asked for something you are not sure about, always send them with your officers! Do not invent an answer!!!

Always make reference to your local unit website and 501st website

Remember: We DO NOT SELL anything!!!! We make our own costumes.

Never troop alone! always have some friend with you (cases where you are a lone trooper in your area)

Even if you are in costume and not a handler, be mindful of your fellow troopers and if you notice someone badgering them, get a handler or step in yourself and discreetly move the trooper out of the situation.

Always walk with a wall behind you (don’t think anything funny guys ), because there is always THE idiot willing to look smart in front of his friends to sneak behind and grab the detonator or steal your gun in the holster (breaking the whole belt by doing so).

Watch out of people who are too enthusiastic... they could be dangerous for your costume. Over friendly hugs really hurt when in full costume

Try to get a spot in front of the equestrian units in your local parades.